Introduction: A sudden flash of light -- A breath of immoral air: Joseph Priestley and the discovery of oxygen -- Epiphany at Clapham Road: Friedrich Kekule and the discovery of the structure of carbon compounds -- A visionary from Siberia: Dmitry Mendeleyev and the invention of the periodic table -- The birth of amazing discoveries: Isaac Newton and the theory of gravity -- The forgotten inventor: Philo Farnsworth and the development of television -- A faint shadow of its former self: Alexander Fleming and the discovery of penicillin -- A flash of light in Franklin Park: Charles Townes and the invention of the laser -- The pioneer of Pangaea: Alfred Wegener and the theory of continental drift -- Solving the mystery of mysteries: Charles Darwin and the origin of species -- Unraveling the secret of life: James Watson and Francis Crick and the discovery of the double helix -- Broken teacups and infinite coastlines: Benoit Mandelbrot and the invention of fractal geometry.